In its second report, the Culture, Media and Sport Committee says BT is “significantly under investing” in Openreach, its infrastructure subsidiary. Based on a report commissioned from a panel of independent experts, the Committee concluded the shortfall in investment could potentially be hundreds of millions of pounds a year. Establishing world-class connectivity throughout the UK (PDF 1,4MB) A few snippets: – “At present, a sizeable number of people and businesses lack access to good, reliable and affordable broadband communications; and without that they are at risk of being digitally excluded and left behind.” “The UK is a laggard by international standards in providing fibre connectivity. This could result in a widening, not a narrowing, of the digital divide; especially as demand for faster services escalates after 2020.” “UK broadband access infrastructure is dominated by BT’s local access network subsidiary ….. but one consequence of this rapid rollout has been that the programme

Which? Broadband Petition Which? have launched a campaign asking advertising watchdogs to review guidelines on broadband ads to require:- – All adverts making speed claims like ‘superfast’ to quantify these claims – Advertised speeds to be available to the majority of customers and broadband providers to be upfront about how many people can actually get the speed advertised Mission Statement Eight in ten people don’t know that the speeds quoted in broadband ads only need to be available to 10% of customers. We want advertising watchdogs to pull the plug on confusing ads and ensure providers show speeds the majority of customers actually get. AIMS Which? want broadband providers to back up claims like ‘superfast’ with speeds you’ll actually get Which? want the majority of customers to get the speeds they’re promised in ads, not just 10% Which? need your support to convince advertising watchdogs to pull the plug on confusing

Quote from Professor Mark Skilton, of Warwick Business School “The future of the UK economy hinges on connectivity and getting broadband speeds consistent and everywhere, so the role of telecoms companies and internet providers is crucial in growing the UK economy in the digital age. A digital economy doesn’t work if you do not have a signal, the internet of things won’t happen unless we improve the network in the UK and its performance. “The technology is there to do this, but the investment needed is substantial. It is in the interests of the internet service providers (ISPs), consumers, business and the Government to get this sorted out. But at the moment the UK market is driven by the large telecom providers who will only invest if there is a viable return on investment. We need a strong regulator to drive this and work with the ISPs to get coverage

Facebook announced it had completed the first successful test flight of its UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) platform, which it intends to deploy in order to extend connectivity as part of its internet.org initiative, aimed at bringing connectivity to the five billion people around the world currently without access to the internet. The drone, as reported by TechCrunch, has a wingspan comparable to a Boeing 767 but uses lightweight materials that allow it to weigh less than a car. More tests are scheduled for the summer. Speaking at the social media giant’s annual developer conference this week, Mike Schroepfer, Facebook’s chief technology officer, described the UAV platform as part of “radical new infrastructure” that the firm’s Connectivity Lab is developing “to connect people living in some of the most inaccessible areas on Earth”. “It’s our hope that this platform — and others developed by the Connectivity Lab team — will provide new, more cost-effective solutions for

The very welcome, country wide roll out of superfast broadband has benefitted many individuals and businesses, including those who previously had a reasonable connection. Unfortunately, the roll out has not significantly benefitted rural communities and these are the areas where broadband is often unavailable or so slow as to be virtually useless. There remains a significant digital inequality and this is having an adverse impact on the local rural economy. Last year Fibre Valley members were pleased to secure some improvement in the upper Worth Valley, in particular with the construction of a new cabinet at the top of Haworth. However many local communities continue to have broadband issues. At Stanbury, for example, where a high ratio of individuals work from home, Fibre Valley have been told the community will have to wait at least two years for a solution or find a minimum of £30,000 to pay BT Openreach to provide

BT has been accused by MPs of “vastly overestimating” the cost of providing broadband to rural areas. It follows a National Audit Office (NAO) report, which revealed that the rollout will cost at least £92m less than BT had originally said. The government said that the spare cash would be ploughed back into offering fast broadband to more remote areas. BT said that the claim – made by MPs on the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) – was “bizarre”. PAC told the BBC it questioned why BT had told the committee it would cost so much more. “Although it’s reassuring that the cost to the public purse could end up being £92m (25%) less than what BT had originally forecast in its bid, I worry that this does not stack up with what BT told my committee in 2013 – that it factors in a contingency of between 5% and 8%,

(Article courtesy of Keighley News, first published Thursday 24th April 2014) Representatives from a variety of organisations attended a meeting to try and address the problem of slow internet speeds in parts of the Worth Valley. They were responding to a campaign led by community action group Fibre Valley, which has been pressing for better broadband for this area since 2011. Keighley MP Kris Hopkins was at the gathering on April 15. He had helped arrange the attendance of those groups who are in a position to influence where investment in superfast broadband is targeted. Also present were representatives from the government’s Department of Culture, Media and Sport, BT Openreach and Superfast West Yorkshire, the body administering nearly £24 million to be spent on installing faster broadband connections in the county. Ken Eastwood, of Fibre Valley, said, “It was a very useful meeting, and I’m grateful to Kris for getting everyone together.”

£250m boost taking Superfast Broadband further and faster An extra £250m of Government money for superfast broadband will help business start-ups and job creation in some of the UK’s hardest to reach rural areas, Culture Secretary Maria Miller, announced on 25 February, 2014. The nationwide rollout is a key part of the Government’s long-term economic plan to secure Britain’s future by providing access to superfast broadband, and in allocating funding the Government has worked to ensure as many families and businesses as possible benefit. Local projects around the UK will now receive additional funding from a £250m pot, with the hardest to reach locations amongst those who stand to benefit most. This funding is in addition to the £1.2bn already invested by central and local Government and will ensure 95% of UK homes and businesses have access to superfast broadband by 2017. The current rural programme will deliver returns of

Article from the Keighley News following our trip to Bradford City Hall to submit a question to the meeting of full Council (more details soon). The kids enjoyed meeting the Lord Mayor and their tour of City Hall and they did great in the Council Chamber too!

A Shropshire business claims to have found a solution to rural broadband problems in the county after making a major investment in its infrastructure. Telford-based Unitron has installed a dish on top of The Wrekin which will give wireless internet connections to properties in the area with a direct line of sight to the landmark mast. Bosses have invested around £50,000 in the roll-out of the uConnect wireless technology, negotiating with the owner of the mast, Arqiva, to be able to install the necessary dish. Chief Executive Steve Griffin said: “The potential is very high, especially with Shropshire being such a rural county “We are already working with wireless technology on five sites, and we have been working towards getting up on The Wrekin as the coverage is massive. “Whilst listening to many people and the media discussing issues with rural broadband in Shropshire, we have made our own investment to